Our Voice: Bad times bring out the goodness in a community

It must be physically exhausting and emotionally draining to search through a devastating mudslide for survivors, including Amanda Lennick of Kennewick who recently bought a house in the area.

And as the hours and days pass, the situation only becomes more grim.

We are thankful to the responders who are continuing their search in Western Washington.

We are thankful for the technologies for types of searching -- from dogs to sonar.

We also are thankful for those -- including volunteers from the Mid-Columbia -- who have volunteered to go to Oso to feed and comfort the survivors, family members waiting for news and work crews.

We are thankful for those who offer kind words, prayers and financial donations during this horrible time.

It is unthinkable how quickly one's whole world can be altered. Anyone's situation can change almost instantly. We are grateful for the good times and for the good people who help us through the bad times.

Art and rec

The Kennewick arts community is partnering with the city's parks and recreation board. This sounds like a great pairing.

Each group has a slightly different perspective, but they share a common goal: enriching the lives of the people who live, work and play in Kennewick.

We like the idea of them putting their heads together. And we like the ideas they are proposing for this year.

Last year, Kennewick sponsored one successful community garden it makes sense to expand that program.

We also like the idea of using volunteers to help with some of the projects because it saves a little money, but mostly because it gives community members some buy-in.

Low-maintenance art pieces also make a lot of sense.

We appreciate the art in our community. We also love the parks and recreational opportunities.

They are both part of why it is great to live in the Mid-Columbia. It's good to see them working together.

Service animals

We are intrigued by the relationship between service animals and their owners. It is amazing that a dog can be trained to aid in emotional meltdowns and help kids who are prone to wandering stay put.

It takes a lot of training to produce these results.

These animals are amazing, but they also are expensive.

So thank you to community members who helped raise part of the money for Tristen Chambers-Berry's new service dog. And thank you also to Tri-Cities Fever owners Teri and J.R. Carr who picked up the remaining $7,000 on the tab.

The autistic boy from Kennewick will travel to Ohio in May to meet his new companion and to receive training.